Suspect in cabbie’s killing faces life in prison

EL CAJON  A 19-year-old La Mesa man charged with gunning down a cabdriver was ordered held Friday on $2 million bail and faces charges that could send him to prison for life with no chance of parole.

Demetrius Sissac pleaded not guilty to a murder charge and a special allegation that he killed a cabdriver while performing his duties. ﻿If convicted of that charge and first-degree murder, the penalty is life without parole.

The victim, 39-year-old Jalaludin ﻿Hamrah, was a driver for Main Cab Co. He was shot once in the upper body just before 4 p.m. Sunday in Lemon Grove, then lost control of the cab. It overturned near Main Street and Broadway.

Sissac was arrested Wednesday night near his home on Jessie Avenue near El Cajon Boulevard.

Deputy District Attorney Joe McLaughlin said Sissac had some gang associations but declined to elaborate. Court records show Sissac is on probation for auto theft.

Few new details about the crime were revealed at the brief hearing in El Cajon Superior Court before Judge Charles Ervin. Outside of court, McLaughlin credited the Sheriff’s Department for its investigation that led to Sissac’s arrest.

“We believe at this point we have the person responsible for killing Mr. Hamrah,” he said.

Hamrah, who immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan, was the second cabdriver killed in San Diego County with a month. On Sept. 28, Mir Najibullah Sadat Sahou was shot to death in La Jolla.

San Diego police are seeking 28-year-old Ismael Raul Lopez as a suspect in that case.